Towards the Winter Cabin of Serenity and Madness, Cinderella Runs - Chapter 99
Kyden swallowed hard and nodded slightly. It didn’t feel like someone else’s problem to him. Lately, he had been pursuing Roel with the same fervor as that old man, having indulged in his passions just as recklessly.
“Even in the end, he fathered a bastard child. Right before he died, he managed to get someone pregnant! Ha!”
“That’s amazing.”
“Amazing? More like insane.”
Serley snorted. The late Count had fathered many children due to his obsession with women, and Serley’s life was far from smooth due to uncles and illegitimate offspring scheming for the heir’s position.
“Why are you only holding the investiture ceremony now?”
“…”
Serley’s expression became sullen. After the late Count’s death, a succession dispute erupted.
As soon as the funeral was over, Serley experienced an accident. A wheel fell off his carriage, causing it to overturn, resulting in fractures to his arms and legs.
With Serley incapacitated, the Count’s siblings and illegitimate children, who had lived in the shadows while he was alive, emerged. They sought to manage the estate privately and, dissatisfied with that, even involved distant collaterals in their bid for the succession.
The risk of his own death was obvious if he were to play along. Serley called together his relatives for a feast and poisoned the food. He mobilized troops to slaughter his grandfather’s children, his father’s siblings, and those who had once been family.
Half of them died, some fled, and the rest pledged their loyalty. Although the rebellion was quelled, it took time to calm the aftermath.
Thus, it was only six months after the Count’s death that Serley could finally leave the castle for the investiture ceremony.
“So, is that why there are too few knights?”
Kyden guessed this from seeing the few knights present.
“Yes. I had to expel anyone who had even the slightest involvement.”
Serley suddenly glared at Kyden.
“If you had been there, it wouldn’t have become such a hassle!”
“Is it my fault?”
The accusation was directed at Kyden.
“You should have come back immediately after the Count’s death. What have you been doing until now? Can you even call yourself one of my knights?!”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
“Just remember, your father worked hard on my behalf, so I let you off.”
Kyden apologized promptly. It was easier to just accept the hysteria when it erupted.
It was a relief not to be entangled in the troublesome family feud. Kyden concealed his discomfort behind a blank expression.
After finishing his complaints, Serley looked at Kyden with curiosity.
“So, you’ve got a woman now?”
It seemed Sir Dyson had shared that detail as well. Kyden remained tight-lipped, his expression sour.
Serley, unable to contain his excitement, slammed the table with a thud. He looked quite thrilled.
“Sir Jared will be furious!”
Sir Jared was Kyden’s father. They had lived apart since childhood and were not particularly close, so their meetings were often awkward.
“What does my father have to do with this?”
“You ungrateful wretch. Sir Jared worried so much about you. He supported me in every way so you could be reinstated as soon as you returned.”
Kyden didn’t even flinch. It was likely that he had supported Serley for his own security, not out of genuine concern for Kyden’s well-being. He wouldn’t want to find himself holding onto a rotten lifeline, after all.
“It was probably for his own security.”
“You ungrateful child. The saying that raising a child is useless seems to be true.”
It was not for Serley to comment on, given his likely indifference to his grandfather’s death.
“Why don’t you bring her along? I’ll see her anyway when you leave.”
Serley didn’t bother with trivial questions about whether Kyden was serious or planning to marry. Having known him since childhood, he was aware of Kyden’s nature.
Kyden’s approach was not light-hearted; he was serious, straightforward, and reliable—traits that made him a poor choice for casual relationships.
“No, thank you.”
“…Don’t be so petty. I could be of great help in persuading your father.”
“My father won’t care either way.”
Indeed, he would do as he pleased. Even after four years, Serley remained stubborn and unskilled in flattery. Kyden clicked his tongue in response.
That was precisely why Serley wanted Kyden around. He was straightforward, unpretentious, unaffected by others, and saw tasks through to the end—unlike those who were scheming and duplicitous.
“I’m planning to meet a woman at the banquet after the investiture ceremony.”
“…”
“It’s about time to bring in a Countess. We can’t leave all the household matters to Mother forever. She’s getting quite old and her nagging is endless…”
What was he supposed to do about that? Kyden’s eyebrows twitched slightly, he showed his lack of interest on his face.
“Sit down in front of me. I have a lot to talk about.”
Serley, noticing Kyden’s unchanged demeanor, urged him to take a seat. He seemed intent on being a nuisance.
Since old times, Serley had enjoyed sitting Kyden down and droning on about topics Kyden found entirely uninteresting. He would get excited and animated, like a drunken person, about complaints about his grandfather, praise for art, and troublesome uncles, pouring out his thoughts indiscriminately.
Kyden had no interest in such matters, so he simply sat there, listening with one ear and letting it go out the other, as if he was a propped-up sack of barley.
Kyden slouched into the chair, resting his hands on the armrests and leaning back against the backrest in a manner that seemed quite arrogant.
